https://willpatrick.co.uk/articles/B2B product marketing specialist and writer. Articles on marketing, strategy, and internet culture, plus notes and reviews from 80+ books.Hugoen-GBSun, 17 May 2026 14:22:11 +0100https://willpatrick.co.uk/articles/24-000-for-1020-shitty-blogposts/Thu, 25 Jul 2024 00:00:00 +0000https://willpatrick.co.uk/articles/24-000-for-1020-shitty-blogposts/There are two ways to see a bubble: either you study the numbers, or you find something that just doesn't feel right.https://willpatrick.co.uk/articles/compartmentalized-decoy-optimization/Sat, 06 Jul 2024 00:00:00 +0000https://willpatrick.co.uk/articles/compartmentalized-decoy-optimization/On the tendency to optimise for proxies instead of outcomes — and how easy it is to mistake frantic activity for actual progress.https://willpatrick.co.uk/articles/the-joy-of-owning-crap-stuff/Wed, 29 Nov 2023 00:00:00 +0000https://willpatrick.co.uk/articles/the-joy-of-owning-crap-stuff/It's not absolutely crap, it's relatively crap. And it's a liberating feeling.https://willpatrick.co.uk/articles/how-i-rate-the-books-i-read/Wed, 08 Nov 2023 00:00:00 +0000https://willpatrick.co.uk/articles/how-i-rate-the-books-i-read/Every book note I publish on this site gets a rating. Here's how I do it and why it's useful.https://willpatrick.co.uk/articles/why-i-take-notes-when-i-read-books/Tue, 12 Sep 2023 00:00:00 +0000https://willpatrick.co.uk/articles/why-i-take-notes-when-i-read-books/It takes longer. But that's a good thing, actually.https://willpatrick.co.uk/articles/writing-online-is-a-serendipity-engine/Mon, 30 Jan 2023 00:00:00 +0000https://willpatrick.co.uk/articles/writing-online-is-a-serendipity-engine/Writing online introduced me to people who changed my life. On the unexpected, compounding value of putting your ideas on the internet.https://willpatrick.co.uk/articles/a-plague-of-gurus-how-the-internet-was-flooded-with-fake-success/Tue, 25 Jan 2022 00:00:00 +0000https://willpatrick.co.uk/articles/a-plague-of-gurus-how-the-internet-was-flooded-with-fake-success/Thousands of online gurus promise health, wealth and happiness — but their expensive courses deliver little more than recycled advice. How the hell did we get here?https://willpatrick.co.uk/articles/optimising-for-deck-chairs/Thu, 10 Dec 2020 00:00:00 +0000https://willpatrick.co.uk/articles/optimising-for-deck-chairs/It's easy to mistake busyness for progress. Here's how to slow down, identify the real problem, and stop optimising for the wrong things.https://willpatrick.co.uk/articles/how-to-buy-gifts-that-people-actually-want/Thu, 26 Nov 2020 00:00:00 +0000https://willpatrick.co.uk/articles/how-to-buy-gifts-that-people-actually-want/We buy more bad gifts than we realise — and nobody tells us. How to use psychology to stop wasting money on gifts people don't want.https://willpatrick.co.uk/articles/be-noun-do-verb/Wed, 14 Oct 2020 00:00:00 +0000https://willpatrick.co.uk/articles/be-noun-do-verb/The easiest way to become someone is to do something. Here's why, and how you can begin the process as early as today.https://willpatrick.co.uk/articles/the-idea-lifecycle-why-good-ideas-are-not-enough/Wed, 07 Oct 2020 00:00:00 +0000https://willpatrick.co.uk/articles/the-idea-lifecycle-why-good-ideas-are-not-enough/Good ideas are worthless without execution. A framework for understanding what happens to ideas — and how to turn them into something real.https://willpatrick.co.uk/articles/the-anatomy-of-a-viral-blog-post/Wed, 30 Sep 2020 00:00:00 +0000https://willpatrick.co.uk/articles/the-anatomy-of-a-viral-blog-post/One of my articles went viral. I kept detailed notes as it happened — this is my analysis of why it spread and what I learned from the experience.https://willpatrick.co.uk/articles/my-utterly-bizarre-routine-to-write-1000-words-every-day/Thu, 17 Sep 2020 00:00:00 +0000https://willpatrick.co.uk/articles/my-utterly-bizarre-routine-to-write-1000-words-every-day/In which I discuss the *totally weird* life-changing benefits of consistently sitting down and doing the work, every day, until it is finished.https://willpatrick.co.uk/articles/building-a-creativity-kanban/Mon, 14 Sep 2020 00:00:00 +0000https://willpatrick.co.uk/articles/building-a-creativity-kanban/To get more creative work done, think like a car manufacturer. A system for optimising the creative process and breaking through your barriers.https://willpatrick.co.uk/articles/the-unusual-way-to-work-like-a-nobel-prize-winning-physicist/Wed, 09 Sep 2020 00:00:00 +0000https://willpatrick.co.uk/articles/the-unusual-way-to-work-like-a-nobel-prize-winning-physicist/Are you having enough fun? Forget always trying to 'crush your goals' 24/7 - try goofing off once in a while. You might surprise yourself.https://willpatrick.co.uk/articles/the-tyranny-of-the-popcorn-post/Thu, 03 Sep 2020 00:00:00 +0000https://willpatrick.co.uk/articles/the-tyranny-of-the-popcorn-post/Popcorn Posts — listicles and empty content — are clogging up the internet. Why this is bad, and how writers can do better.https://willpatrick.co.uk/articles/the-ultimate-guide-to-safety-razor-shaving/Tue, 25 Aug 2020 00:00:00 +0000https://willpatrick.co.uk/articles/the-ultimate-guide-to-safety-razor-shaving/Safety razor shaving is cheaper, better for the environment, and gives a closer shave. A complete guide to switching from cartridge razors.https://willpatrick.co.uk/articles/notes-from-a-flat-earth-conference/Wed, 19 Aug 2020 00:00:00 +0000https://willpatrick.co.uk/articles/notes-from-a-flat-earth-conference/I attended a flat earth conference to take portraits. I thought it would be a simple photography project. What I found was more complicated.https://willpatrick.co.uk/articles/youve-never-manifested-anything/Thu, 13 Aug 2020 00:00:00 +0000https://willpatrick.co.uk/articles/youve-never-manifested-anything/Sorry to break it to you. Here's an explanation of what's really going on, and why 'manifesting' is such a misleading concept.https://willpatrick.co.uk/articles/the-lightbulb-obsession/Thu, 06 Aug 2020 00:00:00 +0000https://willpatrick.co.uk/articles/the-lightbulb-obsession/An exploration of our obsession with the idea-as-lightbulb narrative. If you want to have amazing ideas, don't just sit there - do something.https://willpatrick.co.uk/articles/s-curve-thinking/Thu, 30 Jul 2020 00:00:00 +0000https://willpatrick.co.uk/articles/s-curve-thinking/Life isn't linear. Stuck in a rut or not sure what to do next? It's time to get wobbly.https://willpatrick.co.uk/articles/am-i-wrong-3-ways-to-turn-error-into-opportunity/Thu, 04 Jun 2020 00:00:00 +0000https://willpatrick.co.uk/articles/am-i-wrong-3-ways-to-turn-error-into-opportunity/We often expend a lot of energy avoiding mistakes. But with any error comes opportunity, depending on how you approach it.https://willpatrick.co.uk/articles/how-to-learn-online-for-free/Wed, 03 Jun 2020 00:00:00 +0000https://willpatrick.co.uk/articles/how-to-learn-online-for-free/You can learn almost anything online for free — if you know where to look. A practical guide to self-directed online learning.https://willpatrick.co.uk/articles/are-you-in-it-for-the-learning/Tue, 02 Jun 2020 00:00:00 +0000https://willpatrick.co.uk/articles/are-you-in-it-for-the-learning/You don't need an education to learn. But you do need to learn to succeed.https://willpatrick.co.uk/articles/the-ethics-of-teaching-online/Mon, 01 Jun 2020 00:00:00 +0000https://willpatrick.co.uk/articles/the-ethics-of-teaching-online/It's never been easier to begin teaching online. But just because you can, doesn't mean you should. And if you do, are you sure you're acting ethically?https://willpatrick.co.uk/articles/is-it-too-late-no-start-now/Mon, 18 May 2020 00:00:00 +0000https://willpatrick.co.uk/articles/is-it-too-late-no-start-now/Sometimes it feels like it's too late to start. Luckily, it's not. Here's why it's so important to get started today, and how to go about doing exactly that.https://willpatrick.co.uk/articles/theres-no-such-thing-as-multitasking/Wed, 06 May 2020 00:00:00 +0000https://willpatrick.co.uk/articles/theres-no-such-thing-as-multitasking/The greatest myth about multitasking... is that it even exists. Here's why, and how you can break out of the trap.https://willpatrick.co.uk/articles/stop-worrying-about-productivity-and-do-this-instead/Fri, 01 May 2020 00:00:00 +0000https://willpatrick.co.uk/articles/stop-worrying-about-productivity-and-do-this-instead/Having a great productivity system will help you to get a lot done. But it might be doing more damage than you think.https://willpatrick.co.uk/articles/you-dont-have-to-be-a-creative-to-be-creative/Tue, 28 Apr 2020 00:00:00 +0000https://willpatrick.co.uk/articles/you-dont-have-to-be-a-creative-to-be-creative/It's a common misconception that only certain people get to be creative. The truth is that we all are, and it's the most important thing we can be.